City of Fiction

"Engrossing…. a terrifically entertaining novel."--Irish Times

In the early 20th century, China is a land undergoing a momentous social and cultural shift, with a thousand-year-old empire crumbling and the nation on the brink of modernity. Against this backdrop, a quiet man from the North embarks on a perilous journey to a Southern city in the grip of a savage snowstorm. He carries with him a newborn baby: he is looking for the child's mother and a city that isn't there.

This is a story of two people: a man who finds unexpected success after having journeyed to the hometown of the woman who abandoned him; and the woman he is searching for, who mysteriously disappeared to embark on her own eventful journey. This is a story about vanished crafts and ancient customs, about violence, love, and friendship. Above all, it's a story about change and about storytelling itself, full of vivid characters and surprising twists—an epic tale, as inexorable as time itself and as gripping as a classic adventure story.



"A story of love and sacrifice.... a stark reflection of a galvanising time."



"Engrossing…. a terrifically entertaining novel."



"City of Fiction  does have the capacity to delight. If  City of Fiction  isn't lifelike in the way of realist novels, it isn't unlike life — actual life — in all its uneven, ungainly weirdness."



"Once an edgy experimentalist, Yu Hua is now one of China's best-selling writers."



"Wencheng (City of Fiction) is not just a city where the story happens, but a space in which the readers can let their imaginations roam free."



"City of Fiction is fatalist, yet contains many moments of happiness and satisfaction which, however fleeting and empheral, are worth living for. Hope can survive in tragedy."



"A sweeping tale of love, blood, and dreams.  A must-read for fans of historical fiction, Yu Hua's latest work is both an epic and an intimate portrait of a world in flux—one that lingers long after the final page. "



"Revolution is only a few years away, a thousand-year-old empire crumbles, a nation is on the brink of modernity. However it is not necessary to understand this history to follow the lives of the protagonists; it is only really necessary to understand the tragedy of human existence, love and missed opportunities. "